Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1336129
www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 13 "I'm really proud of my team's work because we've been really agile in developing COVID-related contracts quickly and negotiating with governments and third parties seamlessly." creative ways to get to know people such as introducing virtual collaborative workspaces. She scheduled weekly meetings with her team in addition to meetings with the senior leadership team and some key directors to keep the lines of communication open. "I think it's really important for people to understand that we're still here even though we can't see them physically," she says. When Zarkovich joined the team, she implemented staff accountabilities for her team to keep track of what everyone is working on, as well as mission values and decision principles to help develop a strong team. Alongside her responsibilities in leading the legal function, Zarkovich and her team at LifeLabs have been supporting the organization in the development of a new line of business for COVID testing. In November, the diagnostic provider announced a new program for supporting the Ontario government in increasing the local public health response to the pandemic by providing additional COVID-19 assessment centres. Testing services were made available at a limited number of LifeLabs locations for both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals to support and augment the network of assessment centres already operating throughout the province. "I'm really proud of my team's work because we've been really agile in developing COVID-related contracts quickly and negotiating with governments and third parties seamlessly," says Zarkovich. Understanding the business requirements and implementing a transferable legal framework very rapidly was a major undertaking for the team, which consists of a blend of lawyers, contract specialists and privacy specialists. Among her goals for 2021, Zarkovich says she hopes to cement her position as a trusted business partner and to be commercially minded. She has set up key benchmarking milestones for working alongside the business with plans for attending meetings to really understand the lab business and to understand the value that the legal team can offer by embedding itself into the business. "I derive my greatest satisfaction from watching the team grow and advance from a career perspective, so my goal is always to foster the team and watch them develop as individuals," says Zarkovich. "That is something that every leader should have as their number one priority." At Sherrard Kuzz LLP we collaborate with our clients to anticipate and avoid human resources problems. We know proactive steps today will prevent Murphy's Law tomorrow. From human rights to health and safety, and everything in between… If you're an employer, we're the only call you need to make. sherrardkuzz.com | 416.603.0700 250 Yonge St #3300, Toronto, ON M5B 2L7 @sherrardkuzz 24 HOUR 416.420.0738